Air Niugini goes misses runway and crashes into the sea off Weno, the main island of Chuuk state in Micronesia
ADVERTISEMENTDozens of passengers on Air Niugini's Flight 73 were rescued after it crashed into a lagoon in Micronesia on Friday.
No serious injuries were reported as a flotilla of small boats swarmed the scene to pluck the flight's 47 passengers and crew to safety, authorities said.
Photos of passengers scrambling to swim to the safety boats were seen across social media.
The Pacific Daily News of Hagatña, the capital of Guam, quoted Jimmy Emilio, the airport's manager, as saying the plane landed in the lagoon instead of on the runway at about 9:30 a.m. Friday. It ended up about under a kilometre from the runway, Emilio said, according to the newspaper.
The airline said the plane, which was making a scheduled stop on its way from the Micronesian capital Pohnpei to Port Moresby, had "landed short of the runway".
No serious injuries were reported.
"Air Niugini can confirm that all on board were able to safely evacuate the aircraft," the firm said in a brief statement.